In the Redsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; End
Young Guns:
Spearing and Insua
Everton moving on

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Our greatest team
revealed!
The 12th Man:
A tribute to the Kop

2

In the Reds’ End

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n this issue of
In The Reds’
End, we will
look at how
our season has
developed so far.

We also look forward
(fingers crossed) to our
derby rivals, Everton
moving out of Merseyside
(there are only two good
sides
in Merseyside:
Liverpool; and
Liverpool
reserves)
and to the
widely
anticipated World
Cup in
South
Africa
next year.
There
will also
be a BPL
fixtures
centre
fold
pull out,
which
should
be an easy tool for us to
count our victories to the
title.
Elsewhere, we will be
reviewing and looking at
our two biggest signings
during the summer: Alberto Aquilani and England’s
very own Glen Johnson.
Although the loss of
Xabi Alonso has hurt the
side quite a bit, we wait
anxiously for the promise
of Aquilani to come to

fruition. Besides buying
established stars, the gaffer
has also made it a personal
mission to acquire new
young players every year.
While some have come and
gone, the few in our famed
Academy have made it into
our first team, and some
have stayed as permanent
features. We look at the
careers of Argentine Emiliano Insua,
and our very
own, home
bred lad, Jay
Spearing.
On the issue
of transfers,
Liverpool is
by far one of
the most attractive clubs
to play for ask Fernando
Torres: he
was courted
five times by
our Manchester rivals but
never moved!
- and a big
part of that is
the Kop. In a
tribute to the
greatest fans on Earth, we
see what makes Anfield
such a special place for
world class players.
2010 promises to be a
new year for a fully fit
squad. Although we have
been hampered by injuries,
the new year promises
much.
The season’s well underway and I’ll say, The Reds
are marching in!

or a season that
promised
so much,
it seems like everything is going
downhill.

Now fifth in the table
(and hopefully climbing by the time this gets
out), the competitors for
a top four finish are now
apparent than before.

Maturity in the sides like
Tottenham and Aston Villa,
coupled with the money of
Manchester City (billions,
I must add) the future of
the exclusive ‘top four’ now
seems in more threat compared to last season.
The titles of our past now
weigh heavily on the current crop of players: with a

title drought lasting nearly
twenty years now, we have
seen many pretenders to
the throne that we know
rightfully belongs to us.
Manchester United, in a
surge the last two decades,
has caught up with our 18
titles. If we do not hold off
the Devils, I fear the jesting
we receive when we next
play at Old Trafford.
Not that we should be
afraid. Three wins in the
last three have definitely
brought the bragging rights
back to Anfield. In all three
performances, Liverpool
has looked the stronger all
over the pitch. The images
of Fernando Torres and
Steven Gerrard tormenting Vidic is a powerful one;
one that will stay with me
forever.
While it is fair to stay
our season has been a
down one because of the
last couple of weeks, all is

not lost. There is still the
Europa League to play for;
the FA Cup, and definitely
the title. Five losses might
seem a lot, but who’s to
say that Chelsea or United
will not lose more games.
We are the comeback
masters; we are the best
when the chips are down
and backs against the
wall, and we are more than

capable of putting together
a run of twenty odd wins.
This team (even with all its
injuries) is definitely good
enough to challenge at the
very top.
Injuries might have hampered us till this stage, but
with Aquilani (class player
he is) and our terrific duo
fit, the rest of the season
might go as planned.

The Europa League
The season’s far from over.
We might have missed out on
the knock out stages of the
Champion’s League, but we’ll
make do.
Liverpool has a tradition
in this competition, winning
it three times. The last time
with Gerard Houllier was an
epic, with nine goals in a rain
soaked match against Alaves.
Much has changed though,
since the last time. What was
the UEFA cup is now the Europa League, and where there

were almost no English teams
in the play off round, there
will be Fulham, Everton and
Aston Villa.
The chances of us meeting
beloved (not) rivals are slim,
but a city might be in store
for us.
The competition is by no
means easy. No Eurpoean
competition ever is. With
teams like Juventus, Wolfsburg and Atletico Madrid, it
will take quite an effort.
But we’ve got it sorted.

4

In the Redsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; End

Advertisement

WORLD CUP FEVER

T

he 2010 world cup
groups have been
drawn and the entire
football world is buzzing. The
group of death has been accepted as Group C, involving
Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast
and North Korea. While the
tournament is still roughly
half a year away, the draw
kicked off the final run into
South Africa 2010.
One of the storylines to
look for is how the African
nations fair in the first world
cup held on their continent.
It will be interesting to see if
they can continue to impress
the world as they did in the
80’s or 90’s now that the
setting is to their
advantage.
Look for
the Ivory
Coast
and
Ghana
to
be
Africa’s best
chances at a club
lasting deep into
the tournament.
Many of the
European powerhouses have

Half a year and it’ll be the biggest
event in World Football. No, Sepp
Blatter is not stepping down. It’s
the World Cup! Bafana Bafana!
a point to prove with England,
Netherlands, Germany and
Italy all having a tournament
that will be very important in
determining their place in the
world.
The two favorites going in
to the tournament are Brazil
and Spain; but
with many top
clubs competing,
I think we will
have an exciting
and emotional
tournament sure to
bring football to the
world’s forefront this
June.
One of my weekly
pleasures leading
up to the 2006
World Cup was
following Pele’s
globe trotting
tour around the
world. The King went all over

the place and no matter what
country he was in he would
predict nothing but success
for their World Cup team. If
we all had a dollar for his incorrect predictions over
the years we would
be rolling in money.
Even with the
2010 World Cup
still way out on
the horizon Pele is
dusting off the rust
and getting back into
his prediction mode.
On a visit to Mexico
this past weekend Pele
predicted great things
for Mexico in South
Africa 2010. Believe it or
not he has said this before.
We’ll have to wait
until 2010 to see if his
prediction comes true.
By then he’ll have
tapped every country
in the world to win the
tournament. I wouldn’t want

In the Reds’ End

5

to have it
any other
way. England’s next
game will
be Eygpt.
Egypt
aren’t
going to
World
Cup 2010
as they
narrowly
missed out after losing the
specially arranged playoff to
their North African rivals (and
our Group C opponents) Algeria. But Egypt are a fine team,
as Africa Cup of Nations
wins in 2006 and 2008 suggest. They’ll play us after the
2010 Africa Cup of Nations
in Angola, so could even be
consecutive three time winners by the time they come to
Wembley. this will be the first
game in the buildup to South
Africa. Seems smart enough,
assuming there are superficial
similarities between Algeria
and Egypt. Will be interesting
to see whether Capello goes
with the first XI he plans to
start at the World Cup.

6

In the Reds’ End

Bye! Au Revoir! ¡Adiós!

E

verton remain
confident a
new stadium in
Kirkby can be ready
for the start of the
2011/2012 season.

That is the message from
Chief Executive Robert
Elstone following news the
report into the Kirkby Inquiry,
which closed today after 36
days of evidence, is unlikely
to be presented to the Secretary of State until June.
That means a final decision
on whether the Destination
Kirkby project can go ahead
will not be forthcoming until
the eve of the 2009/10 Premier League season. A final
decision had been expected
later in the Spring.
However, Mr Elstone
believes that, despite the
delay, a new stadium can be
completed in time for the start
of the 2011/12 season.
He told evertonfc.com:
“We’re very happy with the
way the inquiry went and feel
we were represented very

The Blues: Fellani, Neville and Saha’s had enough
well. I was impressed with the ton can fulfill our side of the
work done by the other membargain as part of the partnerbers of the partnership.
ship. We will be discussing in
“We answered some tough
more detail the timetable with
questions in impressive fashour partners with a view to
ion and, in the course of doing seeing if there is any way the
that, were able to put right
decision can be accelerated.
some misconceptions that
“But I am confident that the
had emerged. Throughout this powers that be are aware of
process we have been keen to
how important timing is to the
stress there is an urgent need
overall project.”
to
“ Everton are investing
move
and
in the future ”
also
a unique opportunity in the
Patrick Clarkson, QC, presense that Kirkby is here
sented the closing submission
- that is something which
for Tesco and Everton.
makes this project so special
He addressed a variety of
not just for Everton but also
concerns that had been raised
for the people of Kirkby.
by all the objectors to the
“On that basis, and with
proposal.
the news today it may well be
He said: “The fundaJune before the inspector can
mentals of this scheme and
finalise the report, we have
judgements on them are key.
to be certain we can hit the
The proposal is to regenerground running to achieve a
ate Kirkby through major
2011 start date for the comdevelopment of a football
pleted stadium.
stadium and shops. The need
“That means we will
to regenerate is of national as
continue to push on with the
well as local significance. The
project development so Everproduct of redevelopment will

resonate nationally given the
figure in the region of 3000
new jobs being created.”

Importance
He then underlined how
important it was for Everton
to move to a new stadium. “It
is a specious suggestion that
Everton should stay where
they are or that they are trying to steal a march on their
competitors by constructing a
stadium they cannot afford,”
he declared.
“That is luddite business
planning of ‘do nothing and
it will be alright’. On the
contrary, as above, Everton
are investing in the future
like any business by raising
finance for a stadium which
will provide one of the best
customer experiences in the
country.”
“This is a town that is not
performing the role it should
be,” Mr Clarkson explained.
“If the opportunity is good
enough the retailers are energetic enough to unlock it.”

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New boys on the block!

In the Reds’ End

11

They need no introduction, really. With Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa leaving the club, we’ve gone one better. Meet new right back Glen Johnson, and our man-in-the-middle, Alberto Aquilani.

ngland international
Glen Johnson is an
attacking right-back who
arrived at Anfield in June
2009 .
Johnson established himself as one of the Premier
League’s top full-backs in
the years prior to his big
money move to Merseyside
and he is an integral part
of the national team under
Fabio Capello.
His career began with Harry Redknapp at West Ham
but after just 15 appearances
he became the first signing
for new Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich
in 2003.
The Londoner’s
league debut for
the Blues arrived
at Anfield in August of the same year.
Three months later came
an international bow against

Denmark as a substitute for
Gary Neville.
Johnson won the Premier
League and League Cup
during his time at Stamford
Bridge but was loaned by Jose
Mourinho to Portsmouth in
2006.
The deal was made permanent a year later and the
England man went on to be a
massive hit with the Fratton
Park faithful.
He helped the club to FA
Cup glory in 2008 - and the
season that followed brought
a host of personal accolades.
Despite Port-

hletic
“Superior at
qualities”

smouth finishing 14th in
the league, Johnson was selected at right-back in the PFA
Team of the Year for 2008-09.

His screaming left-foot volley
against Hull on November 22
also won Match of the Day’s
Goal of the Season.
His debut arrived at White
Hart Lane on August 16,
2009. Liverpool lost 2-1, but
it was Johnson’s foray into
the box that won a penalty for
Rafa Benitez’s men.
Three days later the defender scored an acrobatic
volley and was named man of
the match in a 4-0 thrashing
of Stoke City at Anfield.
Away from the pitch, our
new boy established the ‘Glen
Johnson Soccer School’ in
Dartford back in 2007 for
children aged between four
and 16.
The outstanding stats of two
league goals and a host of as-

sists testify to his quality that
none can deny.
While many might doubt
his defensive capabilities, the
wingback has proved to be
more than able. His superior
athletic qualities allow him
to shalom down the wings
and at the same time track
back to defence.
Benitez went one better
by recruting Glen Johnson.
While many might credit the
manager for such an astute
signing (and rightfully so),
there was no doubt for Johnson when The Reds came in
for Him.
Perhaps the biggest
compliment paid to him was
when international boss,
Capello, called him “the best
right back England has”.

taly international Alberto
Aquilani is a central midfield playmaker who came to
Anfield in August 2009.
His arrival on Merseyside
followed the departure of
Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid.
As a 16-year-old star in the
making, Aquilani spurned
lucrative advances from
Chelsea and Arsenal to kick
off his football career with
hometown club Roma.
He made his Serie A debut
for Fabio Capello’s side in
May 2003 before spending
the following season on loan
at Serie B outfit Triestina,
making 41 appearances and
scoring four goals in the

process.
Aquilani’s
return to Rome
saw a gradual
introduction into
the first team and
he really made his mark in a
2-0 derby victory over Lazio
in February 2006, showcasing
his technical prowess by netting a spectacular long-range
drive.
His impressive performances earned him the No.8 shirt
in time for the start of Roma’s
2006-07 campaign.
Sadly, injury was to keep
him on the sidelines for most
of the season but not before
he won his first full Italy cap

in November 2006 in a friendly against Turkey.
Aquilani was back on the
pitch for a two-legged Coppa
Italia final against Inter Milan
in May 2007, helping his side
to a 7-4 aggregate victory.
Further success representing his country came in the
2007 European U21 Championships in the Netherlands,
where he scored two goals
and was named in UEFA’s
Team of the Tournament.

“Spraying passes
throughout Anfield”
He has since cemented his
place on both the European
and international stage, with a
host of eye-catching Champions League appearances for
Roma and a brace of goals
for Italy in a World Cup 2010
qualifier against Montenegro
in October 2008.
An ankle injury kept Aquilani sidelined for the opening
months of the 2009-10 season
following his arrival on Merseyside.
He finally made his long-

awaited Liverpool debut as
a substitute in the Carling
Cup fourth round clash with
Arsenal at the Emirates on
October 28, 2009.
Aquilani was again handed
a cameo role when the midfielder made his Anfield bow
in a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City on November 9.
He has since gone from
strength to strength, making
appearances as an impact
substitute. He was finally
given a starting role in
Liverpool’s 2-0 win over
Wolverhampton Wanderers after Javier Mascherano
was injured in the previous
match.
In his starting debut, he
showed creative feet and
quick touches, quickly adoring him to the Kop. While he
might not be as ‘tiger-ish’ as
Mascherano, he is undoubtly
more creative.
Spraying passes throughout the Anfield turf, he
slowly but surely found his
feet. First name on the team
sheet when fit, we can expect
ourselves to see more of
Aquilani in the near future.

Our young guns

In the Reds’ End

13

The Reds’ academy has always been a special factory for amazing talent. In this issue, we look at two of
our very own youngsters - Spearing and Insua - who are more than a fit in the The Reds’ first team.

Emiliano INSUA

Jay SPEARING

Next Gerrard
Watching this tenacious
midfielder play is like watching a young Gerrard in action.
He is calm and composed
and works incredibly hard
for the team. He would be
my number one candidate to
become a first team regular.
Spearing, who was seen
as a defender during his rise
through the ranks, came on as
a substitute in a Champions
League clash with PSV on
December 9, 2008 to make
his senior debut.
What the Wirral-born
youngster lacks in height, he
makes up in hunger and energy. These attributes prompt-

ed the Kop to sing his name
for the first time during an
electric cameo as the mighty
Real Madrid were dispatched
4-0 in March 2009.
That very impressive appearance against Real Madrid,
coupled with steady performances as subsitutes in matches
so far makes Spearing a
favourite. This guy is simply,
without a doubt, Liverpool’s
next Kop model.

“Even better”

A

rgentine youngster
Emiliano Insua is fast
becoming a regular on the left
side of Liverpool’s defence.
Insua arrived from Boca
Juniors in January 2007 on
an 18-month loan deal which
was eventually made permanent.
His first-team debut came
against Portsmouth on April
28, 2007, though much of the
following season was spent
helping the reserves win the
league.
It wasn’t until 2008-09
that Insua began cementing
his place in Rafa Benitez’s
first-team plans, notching 13
appearances despite competition from Fabio Aurelio and
Andrea Dossena.
He has continued to impress
in 2009-10 and Insua scored
his first goal for Liverpool
with a long-range volley in
the Carling Cup fourth round
tie with Arsenal at the Emirates.
Noted for his attacking
prowess, he won his first cap
for Argentina in the dramatic
World Cup qualifier with Peru
on October 10, 2009.
Liverpool’s left back

Insua has already played in
a total of 15 games for Liverpool, and hasnt looked out of
place, and Benitez argues he
has been “more impressive”
than the likes of Aurelio,
Dossena and John Arne Riise
before him.
A tough tackling full back,
and only 20, Insua has all the
raw attributes to be Liverpol’s
left back for seasons to come.
He will look to have a big
2009/10, both domestically
with Liverpool, and possibly
internationally with Argentina, seeing as the 2010 World
Cup is on the horizon, and
Maradona’s Argentina are
looking for youth to progress,
and possibly stake a claim for
inclusion in the squad.

2007 after the best part of a
decade at the Academy.
The central midfielder captained Liverpool U18s to the
second of their successive FA
Youth Cup victories in 2007.
The young impish midfielder has grit and desire and a
fair amount of skill and good
footballing brain and perhaps
best of all you can see just
how much passion and love
he has for the club and that

position has been of growing
concern over the past few seasons, with players coming and
going, and in Fabio Aurelio’s
case, getting injured over and
over again. However, with
Aurelio injured, Liverpool
wouldnt really have a ’senior’
left back available, except
‘rookie’ Argentine Emiliano
Insua

fter a very long period
without effectively using
our youth and academy systems to full effect, Liverpool
have a few youngsters coming
through at the same time and
it’s a testament to the determination and success of our
current coaches and scouts
that has seen an upturn in the
amount of youth players Rafa
can happily use.
Benitez clearly has taken
on board the much anticipated
‘homegrown’ rulings and is
well on the way to having half
a dozen players on the fringes
of the first team picture who
happily adhere to the guidelines and Spearing is perhaps
the most advanced of those in
his armoury.
Jay Spearing graduated to
Melwood in the summer of

14

In the Reds’ End

A tribute to the Kop

The 12th Man

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I
can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
-- Bill Shankly, greatest Liverpool manager ever

he greatest fans on
Earth. The loudest.
The most hysterical.
“Absolute nutters, the
Kop.” Says just about
everything Liverpool stands for.
It is all too easy to sing when you
are winning, but what about when
you’re not? You could choose to
stay quiet, or even express your
disappointment with boos and
whistles. What a team really needs,
though, is support. Unconditional
support.
Our new “slogan” for our away
shirt - Every team needs the 12th
man.
While the accolades rage in for
the 12th man in Anfield, there is little understanding as to how a support of roughly 42, 000 can create
such an atmosphere. The stadium’s
not the biggest, the place not the
most modern.
The fans are, however, legendary. Just ask ex-Liverpool player,
Luis Garcia.
“We were sitting in the dressing
room and we could clearly hear
thousands of fans singing You’ll
Never Walk Alone. Can you imagine how that felt?.”
Even as away temas are led out
to chorus after chorus of You’ll

Never Walk Alone, the nudge of
fear of playing one of the greatest teams in the world becomes a
shove. Some opposition players
have even said it felt like “going
into the gallows.”

Daily Post and Echo.
To commemorate the new Kop,
the topmast of Brunel’s giant Great
Eastern six-masted iron steamer
ship, one of the first ever, was
erected on the outside corner of the
Kop at the junction of Walton Breck

field
om the manual of An
fr
t
ar
st
a
en
be
d
ha
It
e, of
clonic, and there wer
dreams, ferocious, cy
with
yers of keening noise
course, those vast la
a
the old glory. This was
more than a taste of
.
bing you by the throat
place practised in grab
Independent
- James Lawton, The

History
The Kop was named after a
famous battle during the Boer War,
which took place at Spioen Kop, a
hill in Natal, a province of South
Africa, on January 24th 1900.
More than 300 men lost their lives
during the battle, whilst attempting
to break the siege of Ladysmith.
Most of them from the Lancashire
Fusiliers and many from their
homeplace of Liverpool and South
Lancashire. The name Spion Kop
was suggested by Ernest Edwards
then sports editor of the Liverpool

Road with Kemlyn Road after the
new Spion Kop was built in 1906.
The ship had been broken up at
Rock Ferry, Birkenhead, in 1890
and the club officials in search of a
flagpole managed to buy it for 20
guineas, a reasonable price.
The mast was floated across
the river Mersey to Garston and
transported to Anfield and hauled
up Everton Valley on two wagons,
hauled by a team of three horses.
It still stands in the same spot at
the corner of the Kop and known
as ‘Flagpole corner’, and will have
been there 109 years since.
You’ll Never Walk Alone.

The greatest team

In the Reds’ End

15

Throughout December you voted for the players you wanted to make up the LFC Team of the Decade.
Thousands of votes flooded in and we can now reveal the greatest team of the ‘Noughties’. Let it begin!

By Michael Yong

M

any players have graced the red
jersey. While there have been
what many some might describe as
failures, the stars who have worn our
the jerseys of Liverpool have no doubt
shone beyond the ones who haven’t.
Goalkeeper Reina was an automatic
choice considering the amount of action
he has seen this season. Although he
had his fair share of spills, his consistency in securing three golden gloves
since his introduction to the Premier
League is no mere feat. No other keeper
in the Noughties have a claim to that, al-

though Dudek might have a claim after
his Istanbul heroics.
The defence speaks for itself. Two
legends at centre back, no question who
those might be really. Finnan was by
far our only solid right back throughout the last secade, and Arne Riise’s
powerful free kick against Manchester
United will live long in the memory of
supporters. We haven’t seen an equally
powerful left boot since.
Although we have had many midfielders who were exceptional, the standout would be Captain Marvel, Steven
Gerrard. His midfield partner of choice
till he left is Alonso, although there has

been a case for Dietmar Hamann. Right
wing was a difficult choice between
King Garcia and Danny Murphy, but
given the flair and the way the Kop
adopted the little King, Garcia merits
his place in the team. Berger, on the
other hand, had little other competitors.
His ferocious left boot, dribbling skills
and all round game have delighted fans
throughout the Noughties, and we wish
his all the best in retirement.
Torres and Fowler. The Spainard is
the fastest striker in Liverpool’s history
(and we have a great strikers’ history!)
to hit 50 goals. His talent is undoubted.
Fowler, well, need we say more?